Health Lobby Group Calls for Boycott

In a dramatic new twist in the fluoride story, fluoride contamination is putting the international sales of Irish food products at risk. Plus: Paolo Tullio opposes fluoridation...

In a move that threatens to have serious repercussions for Ireland, the National Health Federation (NHF) – among the world’s most powerful consumer health rights lobby groups – has called for a Europe-wide boycott of Irish food and drink contaminated with fluoride.

Since the great bulk of Irish food and drink has fluoridated tap water as an ingredient, and is fed/grown/manufactured with fluoridated tap water, the NHF call for a ban will ring loud alarm bells among Ireland’s food producers. A Europe-wide ban or boycott on our fluoride-contaminated exports would be potentially crippling to our economy.

The NHF – founded in the US in 1955 – describes itself as the world’s oldest international non-profit health-freedom organisation for consumers, with members in 20 countries and a branch in Ireland. It is the only non-government organisation accredited to attend and speak at meetings of the Codex Alimentarius Commission – an international body on food standards, created jointly by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the United Nations.

Given its role as an advocate for consumer health rights, the NHF undoubtedly carries clout on the international stage. It has a history of successful health-rights campaigning, and a large grassroots membership across many countries.

In a development that will send shock waves through the food industry here, the NHF – which is openly opposed to mandatory fluoridation – is warning its members internationally to avoid all Irish fluoridated goods, including dairy products, beer and drinks, along with meats ‘nourished’ by consuming fluoridated water and feeds. Its members are also being urged to take action to alert family and friends, local media and governments to the fact that many Irish foodstuffs and beverages are contaminated with fluoride.

The group is also drawing attention to the Republic of Ireland’s extremely high rates of certain diseases – including thyroid dysfunction, depression, neurological illnesses, arthritis, osteoporosis, cardiovascular problems and cancer – which, as already highlighted in Hot Press, are increasingly being associated in scientific literature with fluoride toxicity.

According to numerous reports, the incidence of these diseases in the Republic of Ireland is much higher than the rest of non-fluoridated Europe, including northern Ireland. As Hot Press readers will know, Ireland – the 26 counties, that is – is the only country in Europe with a policy of mandatory fluoridation of the public water supplies. 80% of the Irish population ingests fluoride daily via their taps at home, while 100% regularly consume fluoride via foodstuffs made or manufactured with Irish tap water.

Commenting on the significantly higher rates of 18 different cancers in the fluoridated Republic compared to non-fluoridated northern Ireland, Dr. Howard Davis of the NHF was emphatic.

“The NHF believes,” he said, “that fluoride plays a large part in all of these cancers, and since the Irish government has refused to do any testing, a ban is urgently needed now.”

Interestingly, the NHF cites an EU Court of Justice ruling from 2005 to back its argument for a ban on Irish foodstuffs and beverages. This ruling, according to the NHF, found that water that has fluoride added to it is a medicine and as such, must be tested as a medicine for safety.

This view was rejected by the Minister in charge of fluoridation policy, Alex White, recently in an article written in answer to 27 Questions, which were posed to him by Hot Press. In what seems like a bizarre exercise in semantics, the Government describes fluoride as a ‘cosmetic’ and a ‘public health measure’ – as opposed to a medicine – and thus claims that no safety testing is required.

By way of contrast, a recent edition of the NHF’s magazine, Health Freedom News, quotes the 2005 EU court ruling on fluoridated products, as follows:

“Legally, any company making a consumable product using fluoridated water in its preparation or as an ingredient cannot now export that product to any other state in the EC, even if their product is permitted in their home state.” (See Warenvertriebs-Orthica v. Germany, European Court Justice Ruling [HLH Warenvertriebs and Orthica Cases C-211/03, C-299/03, C316/03 and C318/03, 9 June 2005].)

“This landmark ruling makes it clear that we must ban all food and drink from the Republic of Ireland, to protect the population from being secretly drugged,” Scott Tips, president of the NHF stated. “Since their government has disregarded the growing body of evidence proving harm from fluoride, we are calling for a European-wide ban of their contaminated food products. Obviously, if Europe doesn’t want medically untested fluoridated food and drink exported to EU countries, why should the Irish be eating and drinking them?

“This has more to do with getting rid of toxic waste for industry, and environmental pollution on a grand scale, than protecting children’s teeth,” Tipps added. “Hundreds of thousands of gallons of this corrosive acid go out into the environment each and every year, without even an environmental impact study, which is a breach of EU legislation. This is yet one more reason to stop this.”

Commenting on the 2005 EU Court of Justice ruling, Dr Howard Davis, author the recent Health Freedom News article on fluoridation in Ireland, graphically described the threat to Ireland’s food and drinks industry.

“This ruling will have far-reaching implications for the farming community in Ireland,” he said. “It could mean the loss of sales across the EU, as more countries realise that the Irish have cut themselves out of the market in cheese, milk, beer, soft drinks, bread, cakes, feeds, and meats produced with fluoridated water.

“Remember when Europe banned steroids from beef, and Britain still refused to take them out?” asked Davis. “The EU promptly banned all beef products until the British complied. If the Irish government does not act quickly to stop fluoridation, it could exact a very heavy price on Irish farming, as well as the entire food industry.”

Davis was unapologetic about the stance the NHF has taken.

“The Federation is advising its members,” he explained, “to ask their country’s health boards in the EU to ban these products, to actually enforce this EU ruling against fluoridation.”

The NHF has also criticised what it sees as the intransigence of Irish authorities in the face of citizen calls for an end to mass fluoride medication, which is being carried out without the Irish population’s informed consent, and without evidence proving its safety.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the author and food critic, Paolo Tullio, has denounced the Government’s policy of fluoridation.

Tullio first learned about the harmful effects of fluoride over ten years ago, when he came across a fluoride information leaflet and wrote an article for Food & Wine magazine.

“There seems to be something that’s preventing the government from listening to reason on this issue,” Tullio observes. “And you wonder what it is. They’re not normally completely obtuse, but in this case, they seem to be. What I don’t understand, is why the government has decided to go along with this. Where’s the benefit? It’s probably true that if you put fluoride in toothpaste and put it on your teeth, it may be of some benefit. But when you ingest it – that’s a completely different set of circumstances.

“All this evidence of fluoride’s adverse health effects is being presented to the authorities,” Tullio continues. “But they just dismiss it. That’s the puzzle. I suppose if the health and safety people are saying there’s nothing to worry about, as a government Minister, that’s who you listen to. But the government really needs to examine the evidence again.”

Living in Wicklow, with the benefit of his own private water supply, Tullio feels lucky to be amongst the 20% of the Southern Irish population who do not have fluoride coming into their homes through the taps.

“Fortunately I’m not obliged to drink or cook with or wash in the stuff,” says Tullio. “My son is on the mains, but he’s got a filter that removes the fluoride, and he runs all his water through that.”

Tullio points out that he knows an organic grower, in Wicklow, who would lose his organic status if he used tap water on his plants.

“The problem is that fluoride is getting into our food generally,” says Tullio. “That’s what the Soil Association have against it. It’s shocking to think that our food is contaminated with fluoride, and that nobody can avoid it. It’s a nightmare really. I can fully understand why people, once they know about fluoride contamination, might want to avoid eating out in restaurants. You can control what you eat at home better.

“I believe there’s controversy over whether or not the fluoride being used in Ireland is an industrial waste product,” adds Tullio, voicing a common concern amongst people who are aware of the fluoride issue. “What would be interesting to know is: how would you dispose of fluoride – and how much would that cost – if you weren’t able to dump it into water supplies?”

Dr. Dean Burk, cancer researcher for 50 years during the 20th century. Burk spent 34 years employed at the US National Cancer Institute. He dedicated his retirement to alerting the public about the health risks of water fluoridation.

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